1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to attack-resistant panes (see DEFINITIONS section) and to window assemblies (see DEFINITIONS section) including attack resistant pane(s).
2. Description of the Related Art
Attack-resistant panes are conventional. An attack resistant pane may be ballistic resistant, blast resistant, or both. The degree of ballistic resistance is sometimes rated under one of the following standards: (i) “Ballistic Resistant Protective Materials NIJ Standard 0108.01” by the National Institute of Justice of the U.S. Department of Justice; and (ii) “Bullet-resisting Equipment UL 752” by Underwriters' Laboratories. Both of these standards are published and available online. The degree of blast resistance is sometimes rated under the following standard: GSA Testing Standard (also published and available online.) It is noted that these standards of ballistic resistance and blast resistance are applicable not just to attack resistant panes, but more broadly to any attack resistant panel, such as an opaque panel.
Conventionally, attack resistant panes are made of acrylic or glass, often reinforced with polycarbonate. Conventionally, attack resistant panes are usually a couple inches thick, but may be thinner depending on material used, degree of blast resistance required, degree of ballistic resistance desired and application. Conventional applications of attack resistant panes include window assemblies (see DEFINITIONS section) with attack-resistant pane(s).
US published patent application 2002/0095885 (“Sampson”) discloses a force resistant door and window framing system with frame sections that are: (i) blast resistant; (ii) forced entry resistant; and (iii) ballistic resistant. Each frame section is formed of a single, basic monolithic, homogeneous steel component.
US published patent application 2007/0011962 (“Erskine”) discloses various blast-resistant and ballistic-resistant window assemblies.
Description Of the Related Art Section Disclaimer: To the extent that specific publications are discussed above in this Description of the Related Art Section, these discussions should not be taken as an admission that the discussed publications (for example, published patents) are prior art for patent law purposes. For example, some or all of the discussed publications may not be sufficiently early in time, may not reflect subject matter developed early enough in time and/or may not be sufficiently enabling so as to amount to prior art for patent law purposes. To the extent that specific publications are discussed above in this Description of the Related Art Section, they are all hereby incorporated by reference into this document in their respective entirety(ies).